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Is It Time to Moderate Your Substance Abuse?

Of course, legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco are dangerous, but the big growth in is marijuana. With pot legal in Colorado and Washington and the media full-court pressing to encourage national legalization, it’s not surprising that substance abuse is increasing. According to U.S. government estimates, domestic marijuana production, between 1981 and 2006 increased tenfold! Lest you think it stopped there, since 2008, heavy marijuana use among teens is up 80 percent. Meanwhile pot’s potency has, in the past two decades, more than tripled.

Ironically, this is occurring at the same time as the evidence mounts for marijuana being far more dangerous than we thought. Pot appears to be a true killer—the new tobacco.

Just in the past month, the following were published:

A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association finds that marijuana causes heart attacks and strokes, even among the young.

A Harvard/Northwestern study finds that even casual users suffer significant brain structural changes, affecting motivation and emotions. That confirms what many of us have long suspected but we didn’t think casual use was so dangerous.

A Mount Sinai School of Medicine study found it hurts brain development in fetuses.

All that on top of a mountain of scary data reported—not by some conservative group—but by the Obama Administration.

Substance abuse is far from a victimless crime: Co-workers and family members of substance abusers’ lives are often hurt by the abuse. Kevin Sabet, former Obama administration drug abuse advisor, reported on CNN that since legalization in Colorado, a pre-employment drug testing firm reports a 44 percent increase in the number of job applicants who tested positive for marijuana.

Then there are the thousands of people maimed and killed in substance-abuse-caused vehicle accidents every year. A study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 18 percent of drivers in fatal accidents tested positive for a non-alcoholic mind-altering drug, mainly marijuana. A Columbia University study found almost twice as many drivers in fatal car accidents tested positive versus a control group.

Is it worth the price?

Especially in today’s tough times, many people crave “a little something” to cope with life’s stresses. That’s understandable. And it may be easier and more convenient to get drunk or high than, for example, to take a hike and be one with nature. If your life sucks, you figure, “What the hell. Let me dull the pain.”

But just maybe all this new evidence plus how substance abuse has affected your professional and/or personal life is making you sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Is it time to try—perhaps for the umpteenth time—to moderate your use or maybe even quit at least for a while to see whether you can replace drugs with some other recreation or stress reducer?

Some thoughts on how to make cutting down easier

Some people are wise to go cold-turkey. That way they don’t have to decide each time, “Should I or shouldn’t I?”

But many others prefer moderation, both because it allows the option to get high when they really need it and, by not doing drugs some of the time, they may not as as badly damage their brain, heart, and, if pregnant, the baby.

If the main reason you abuse drugs is for recreation, is there something easy you could substitute? A walk? A bath? A chat with a friend? Cook something fun? Read? Work on your match.com ad? Even TV and video games may be better for you and perhaps more entertaining than that drug.

If the main reason you abuse a drug is stress reduction, is there a way to reduce your stress? Do you need to change jobs or bosses? Gain more skill or do a better job on the job so you get your boss off your back? If a family illness is getting you down, there’s only so much you can do. If you can, back off a bit. For example, should you try harder to get another family member, perhaps one with more bandwidth, to take on more of the responsibility?

I am well aware that cutting down, let alone stopping, isn’t easy but I hope this article may help a bit. For more help, you can contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP. It provides 24-hour free and confidential treatment referral and information. Or visit its website: www.samhsa.gov/treatment/natHelpFAQs.aspx.

Marty Nemko was a drug counselor in the New York City public schools. More recently, he was named “The Bay Area’s Best Career Coach” by the San Francisco Bay Guardian and he enjoys a 96 percent client-satisfaction rate. In addition to the articles here on PsychologyToday.com, many more of Marty Nemko's writings are archived on www.martynemko.com. Of his seven books, the most relevant to readers of this blog is How to Do Life: What They Didn’t Teach You in School. Marty Nemko's bio is on Wikipedia.

Dr. Nemko-
I am an RN who has worked in Psychiatry for the past 4 years in various settings, Psych ER, to ECT, to PACU, to Inpatient, to Behavioral Medicine, to Partial-Hospitalization, to Chemical Dependency. I usually very much enjoy the work I read on this site. However, I find it unfortunate you have decided to attach yourself to this government position. To begin, of course there was a 44% increase in positive THC drug tests; that was to be expected with the legalization. I was also disappointed to follow your link to the White House Admin. position on marijuana, utilizing data collected in 1994; to be fair some citations were relevant from 2010. I am not sure when you completed your degree, but during my academic career, it was required that any cited sources could be only 5 years old, maximum. On top of this, the fact that it is stated marijuana is the second highest drug people seek treatment for....I know I am only objectively familiar with my home state, but that simply does not sit well with me. I have not once encountered a patient who was referred to treatment for only marijuana use. Secondly, this tells people that drugs like heroin, crack, or even meth are not as "bad" as Marijuana. This is not right. You would be wise to focus your writings on a beneficial topic instead of poorly attempting to counteract what is already set in motion, ie: increased marijuana legalization. As for these "studies" showing a plethora of negative outcomes specific to marijuana use? I simply don't buy it. These studies have all been done before, and if these so called negative effects truly occur, we would have seen that the first time around. The studies also need to take into account for medications, family medical histories, and thorough examinations. for example, one of the first studies this year to claim a woman had cardiac arrest because of marijuana use, was found to be erroneous; she had an underlying heart condition that was not discovered until the autopsy. This was also the case for 2 other males overseas. I digress, but I do thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
B. Hanson BSN, RN

I like your observation that some people can quit and others can moderate.
I could not moderate (maybe, through and act of God I might, but otherwise, no) and that knowledge prepared me for abstinence but I was an end stage alcoholic. When I was a beginning or middle stage alcoholic I could.

Anyway, I think some of the people would learn a lot about their using if they tried to moderate. Whether they failed or not, they would know something.

I think it scares a lot of people who are experiencing difficulties away. My way or the highway and if you don't quit you are a failure and immoral.

No wonder no one wants to admit they are drinking more than what they think is appropriate. Some people still think "blame and shame" are the tactics being used in rehab.

It is unfortunate that people are frightened by treatment. I think a lot of lives, marriages, families could be saved if we didn't tell them it is all or nothing.